Photo origami hexahedron

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for printing photo&#39;s on a page to create a photo “cube” using origami.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to printer paper and morespecifically to printer paper and a printer template for creating adisposable photo “cube”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] People like to keep photos of their family, friends, pets, etc.on their desks and tables so they and others can look at them easily.This is often accomplished through a clear, hollow plastic cube withfoam in the middle. Pictures can be inserted on the sides and the top ofthe cube and are held pressed against the sides by the foam. This cansometimes be difficult, as most photos don't come in exactly the rightsize to fit the cube and must be cut. The cube can also get scratchedand battered over time, degrading the appearance of the pictures.

[0003] What is needed is a method and apparatus to easily displayphotos. The apparatus needs to be cheap and easy enough to use suchthat, when it gets damaged, you can throw it away and make a new one.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] A method and apparatus for printing photo's on a page to create aphoto “cube” using origami, or paper folding.

[0005] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a drawing of the crease lines and photo areas for asingle page used to create a photo hexahedron with one open face inaccordance with the current invention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is a drawing of a folded photo hexahedron in accordancewith the current invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0008] A relatively inexpensive photo display method that does notrequire cutting the photos will allow a user to easily display photos ontheir desks. A user that has images in digital form, from a digitalcamera, a scanner, or some other method, can quickly create a photo“cube” using the current invention. In this application a photo “cube”means any hexahedron shape with one open face. An open face means thatthere would not be any paper occupying that face of the hexahedron,thereby leaving an opening into the structure. Using this method a userwould select 5 images and drag and drop the images onto a template. Thetemplate would automatically scale and orient the images. Scaling may bedone isometrically or non-isometrically. It is well known in the art howto scale an image to fit a predefined rectangular space. The templatewould orient the images such that once the page has been folded, four ofthe image bottoms would be adjacent to the open face of the hexahedron(see FIG. 2). Once the user has selected the 5 images and loaded thetemplate the user can print a page. Once the page has been printed theuser can create a photo “cube”, using origami, by folding the page.

[0009] The paper that is used to print the page can be ordinary paper orthe paper can be pre-creased. The pre-creased paper would have creaseswhere the user would fold the paper to create the hexahedron (see FIG.1). The pre-creased paper may come with adhesive (128) or some othermechanism for holding the hexahedron in place, once the user has foldedthe page. When ordinary paper is used, the user would have an option ofprinting fold line, along with the images, onto the page.

[0010] The foregoing description of the present invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible inlight of the above teachings. Other method can be used, for example apaper clip or piece of tape can be used to hold the hexahedron in place.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention invarious embodiments and various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims beconstrued to include other alternative embodiments of the inventionexcept insofar as limited by the prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for printing photos on a single page tocreate a photo hexahedron using origami, comprising: choosing fiveimages; arranging the five images on the single page such that the fiveimages occupy five faces of a hexahedron when the single page is foldedinto a hexahedron with one open face; aligning the four images thatoccupy the four faces of the hexahedron adjacent to the open face suchthat the bottom of the images are adjacent to the open face.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 where the single-page is pre-creased along the linesto be folded.
 3. The method of claim 1 where the single-page hasadhesive in the areas that are folded together.
 4. The method of claim 1where fold lines are printed on the page along with the images.
 5. Atemplate for arranging five images on a single page to create a photohexahedron using origami, comprising: a template area that fits onto asingle page, the template area having a top edge, a right edge, a leftedge and a bottom edge; the template area divided into three verticalbands, a top band, a middle band and a bottom band; the top band isdivided into three areas, a top right area, a top center area, and a topleft area; the top center area is for the placement of one of the imageswith the image oriented such that the bottom of the image is along thetop edge of the template area; the middle band is divided into threeareas, a left middle area, a right middle area, and a center middlearea; the left middle area is for the placement of one of the imageswith the image oriented such that the bottom of the image is along theleft edge of the template area; the right middle area is for theplacement of one of the images with the image oriented such that thebottom of the image is along the right edge of the template area; thecenter middle area is for the placement of one of the images; the bottomband is divided into three areas, a bottom right area, a bottom centerarea, and a bottom left area; the bottom center area is for theplacement of one of the images with the image oriented such that thebottom of the image is along the bottom edge of the template area.
 6. Apage pre-creased to create a photo hexahedron using origami, comprising:the page having a top, a bottom, a right side, a left side, a top rightcorner, a top left corner, a bottom right corner, and a bottom leftcorner; a first crease running vertically from the top of the page tothe bottom of the page, with the first crease placed a predetermineddistance from the left side; a second crease running vertically from thetop of the page to the bottom of the page, with the second crease placeda predetermined distance from the right side; a third crease runninghorizontally from the left side to the right side, with the third creaseplaced a predetermined distance from the top of the page; a fourthcrease running horizontally from the left side to the right side, withthe fourth crease placed a predetermined distance from the bottom of thepage.
 7. The page of claim 6 further comprising: a fifth crease runningfrom the intersection of the first crease and the third crease to thetop left corner of the page; a sixth crease running from theintersection of the first crease and the fourth crease to the top rightcorner of the page; a seventh crease running from the intersection ofthe second crease and the third crease to the bottom left corner of thepage; an eighth crease running from the intersection of the secondcrease and the fourth crease to the bottom right corner of the page. 8.The page of claim 7 where there is adhesive between crease 1 and 5, andbetween crease 1 and 6, and between 2 and 8, and between crease 2 and 7.